Mobile Suit Gundam: Way to Fall
by Neonlightillusion
Summary: From her comfortable life upon the colony of Arc Nova, 16 year old Alicia Jackdaw is thrown forward into the maelstrom of war. As she and a rag-tag group of soldiers battle against the relentless forces of the Titans, a question is posed: How much can one person stand to lose before they break? Updates Weekly!
1. Foreword

Mobile Suit Gundam: Way to Fall

Foreword

Thank you for clicking on my first ever story! If you have any comments or thoughts, please let me know!

This story is intended to take place after the events of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series.

It is worth noting that during this story, there will be many references to previous events that take place in the Gundam Universe. The most relevant of these, and a brief guide to some terminology that will be used are included below.

This story takes place in the Universal Century, beginning in the year 0087. At the beginning of the Universal Century, the Earth became massively overpopulated, leading to much of humanity migrating to immense man-made cylinders called 'Colonies' in space. These colonies were ruled and governed by the Earth Federation, who remained on Earth. However, one of the colonies wished to become independent, and declared itself the 'Principality of Zeon'. The tension between Zeon and the Earth Federation swiftly rose, eventually leading to the events of the 'One Year War' in 0079. In this event, nearly 3 billion lost their lives, both civilian and military. This event also saw the introduction of Mobile Suits, enormous machines created in the shape of man, intended for the use of warfare.

After the defeat of Zeon during the One Year War, many remnants of the group remained. The Earth Federation, weakened by the One Year War established a new division, the 'Titans', to eliminate the remnants of Zeon. However, the Titan's methods swiftly became more and more oppressive, eventually taking overshadowing the Earth Federation and stealing much of their power.

The A.E.U.G (Anti Earth Union Group) is established in rebellion against the Titans due to their brutal actions and hope to end their oppression of the colonies.

Links will be used to allow the reader to find more information, and visual references to certain mobile suits that appear in the story. In addition, certain pages will offer a musical accompaniment to the scenes that take place. We recommend that you listen to the music first, then continue reading.

Regards,

NLI


	2. Chapter 1: Life on Mars

Mobile Suit Gundam: Way to Fall

Chapter 1: Life on Mars

0087- Beginning of AEUG & Titan conflict

"I swear to God Hazel, if you tell me that the Gyan's better than an Acguy one more time, I'm going to smack you in the face with my notebook.", Alicia snarked as she walked down the pavement, previously mentioned notebook clasped tight in her palm and aimed threateningly at the startled looking girl to her left. It was the end of another uneventful day upon the Arc Nova colony, the windowed roof of the gargantuan, rotating cylinder allowing the intense rays to scorch down to the backs of the three teenagers as they walked and argued amongst one another.

Alicia Jackdaw was the eldest of the trio. Her rather well rounded, healthy figure accentuated a somewhat pouty face, pastel-purple pixie cut sitting jagged and unkempt atop her head. Alicia was a curious girl. Daughter of a well respected Titans Engineer, the sixteen year old had found herself relocated to Arc Nova five years ago and thrust into the prestigious 'Imperium Possibilitatem' High School. She had always thought the name pompous, though it was difficult to deny the standards that her education set. And the Mobile Suit simulators there were simply miraculous! She was one of the highest scorers in her class in fact, sitting comfortably at third place in the rankings. Mobile Suits were her life and blood, her grandest fascination and biggest hobby. It was hardly a strange pastime in her class, for her teachers seemed to only encourage her in the pursuits of understanding how to fix a faulty Zaku generator or how to detect a minovsky particle field (The obvious answer was a general dimming of light and fluctuation in infrared scanners as anyone with common sense would be able to tell you.).

Hazel Fawn walked to her left, a rather worried look upon her face.

"Jesus Alice..", she murmured, giving a sigh under her breath.

"Thank God you're not a teacher. Anyway, I'm off home. Later!". With a wave and a smile, the girl's mousy, blonde locks seemed to disappear behind a row of spherical topiary as she ran off home.

"Say Hi to Ari for me!".

"Will do!", Alicia called, waving her palm in response. Now only 15 minutes separated her from home. Her sister, Arianne would have returned home a little earlier today- Alicia planned for an utterly brutal massacre of the poor girl on the games system of her choice when she returned. She played to win, of course.

"You know, you really are a wierd girl, Alicia.", Samuel stated, looking to his side with a humoured smile.

"Snappy. That describes you."

'Snooty', 'Little' & 'Shit' were accurate words to describe Samuel, Alicia thought in jest, a smile peaking upon her face. He was a posh sort, even more so than most of the other students at her school. A rather pointy nose and a thin face gave him an almost vulture-esque appearance, and with his Edwardian styled manner of speaking, Samuel seemed as if he had been plucked from the pages of a Charles Dickens novel. But Alicia liked him for all his odd eccentricities, and for being generally pleasant.

"I'm flattered.", she replied a sideways glance letting him know the extent of her sarcasm. "Really, I am. What kind of snappy then? Like a shark or a pit-bull or someth- Hey! Ari!".

The conversation was interrupted by an unexpected appearance before them. A waif-like figure sat upon the bench before them, gently sat in the shade of the perfectly spaced pine trees that layered the side of the perfectly kept road leading down to the city. With shoulder-length hair as white as virgin snow, and an almost ghostly figure, Arianne Jackdaw slowly rose up from the bench, thin lips breaking into a timid smile.

"Hey you!", Alicia said with glee, moving over to squeeze her sister tight.  
"What are you doing here? I was expecting to meet you at home."

"I just thought I'd surprise you Alice. You do like surprises, don't you?", Arianne replied, waving her hello to Samuel as the three teens began to walk.

"Of course. Coffee?", Alicia said, gently gripping her younger sister's palm and heading towards the city centre of Arc Nova

"You and your bloody coffee..", Sam murmured under his breath. But the criticism was well placed- Alicia was a coffee addict. If she wasn't drinking it, she was on her way to buy it. The smell of her bedroom was infamous amongst Hazel and Samuel for it's similarity to a Costa Rican plantation.

"Coffee.", Arianne acknowledged as the three began to wander down the pathway, relishing the shade of the cool emerald pine.

As Arianne took her seat in a comfortable arm chair, conversation swiftly moved to the curious activity that had recently been occurring around the mountains of the Arc Nova. It was a well known secret that there was Titan development operations in the area- the immense Salamis cruisers that floated above the windowed roof of the colony cylinder were hardly discreet, the pick-up trucks loaded with heavy crates that rattled through the centre of town even less so.

"So, any leads on what they're building? I do find it ever so curious...", Samuel asked, gently blowing upon the thin wafts of comforting steam that slowly drifted upwards, the homely aroma of chamomile tea filling his nostrils.

"I bet it's something interesting.", Arianne murmured, her pale face lifted by rosy cheeks, the warmth of her vanilla latte bringing life to her almost albino skin.

"Something cool! A Gundam or something!", Alicia said with excitement. "How amazing would it be to have our own RX-78, built here! Just imagine it!". Amuro Ray, or the 'White Devil' had been one of Alicia's childhood heroes, a small model of the famous white, red and blue Mobile Suit adorning her desk. She had heard of the wild stories, of the battle against the formidable Big Zam, of the incredible victory at A Baoa Qu. It drove her mind wild with the possibilities of the future, for the designs and suits that would soon fight against one another upon the battlefield.

"Well..", Samuel said, leaning back in his armchair, looking as if a smoking pipe would fit between his fingers.  
"You know that GMs are all the range now, right? I don't think we've had a new Gundam model in.. 3 years, was it? Last thing I'd heard of was the Hazel from 84, right? Not blonde Hazel from school, the Hazel Gundam, I mean."

"Something like that.", Arianne replied, sipping gently upon her latte.

Alicia relaxed upon the smooth leather sofa, settling herself into the comfortable seat. After her refuel of caffeine, she would take her younger sister home, get changed from her plain school uniform to something a little more comfortable. After slaughtering Arianne in a video game of some sort, she would paint a new model kit, make some coffee and go to bed. The life she followed was a simple, but satisfying one. Maybe, if she were lucky, father would have some spare time to join her for dinner. His presence was a rarity nowadays.

"Alice."

Alicia's head flipped upwards as Arianne's voice rang out. Her eyes opened from her brief daze and turned to her sister, that worried voice indicating that something was wrong. Very, very wrong. The light music of the coffee shop had stopped. All chatter had ceased. The entire building's faces were locked in a worried stare, some covering their mouths with their hands. Arianne's face was even whiter than usual, Samuel's hands gripped tightly to the chair as he stared outwards, looking wordlessly through the panoramic windows of the cafe.

"Look."

Slowly, Alicia turned, her slow footsteps the only sounds in the silent crowd. Slowly she rose from her chair and began to walk towards the three enormous windows that looked out to street level.

A thick cloud of smoke rose from the mountains, acrid black and occasionally glowing with billowing pillars of luminous orange and red flame, the massive shadowy smog blanketing the far-side of the colony in an ominous dark curtain.

"I think we're under attack."

Far off in the distance, an immense, metallic colossus rose slowly from the flames.


	3. Chapter 2: Everything Will Be Alright

Mobile Suit Gundam: Way to Fall

Chapter 2: Everything Will Be Alright

The coffee shop was deadly silent as the smoke grew only thicker, heavy streams of black billowed from the hilled area of the colony- a section normally off limits to all but Titan officers. Dread filled the room as the inhabitants moved towards the window, watching the enormous Mobile Suit's monoeye scanned the area, the sound of it's feet smashing through the foliage reverberating around the colony. Even from such a distance, Alicia could identify the suit. It was a Gelgoog, repainted in white but clearly identifiable- those pointed shoulders and that nefarious looking visor couldn't be mistaken for anything else.

"Zeon?", Arianne wondered out loud, turning to her sister and tightly clasping her hand. The elder sister could feel the grip of her younger sibling's palm in her's, evidently terrified by the machine as embers bathed the machine in orange light.

"Impossible. They disbanded years ago..", Alicia replied, her tone subdued.

"So what do we do!?", Ari asked, her eyes beginning to brim with tears as she started to panic.

Alicia didn't reply, but continued to watch as the Gelgoog turned and began to stride in the direction of the Titan R&D department building, trees crashing underfoot as the MS's enormous body thudded onwards. It was clear that the machine was here for something- and it wasn't alone. As it continued on towards the set of modern, concrete hangars, three more immense figures began to move from the smoke. One was a Kämpfer, smooth and almost insectile, it's curved, white form carrying a shotgun under arm as it swiftly moved through the soot. It's luminous pink mono-eye shimmered in a ghastly manner, flicking and turning as it surveyed the area. The other two were considerably more blocky, each armed with a machine gun- a Nemo, and a Rick Dias.

"We need to get home.", Alicia stated, turning from the window. "Sam, you'll come with us. Your home is near central, right?", she said, to which the boy nodded. "Thought so. That's way too close to the fire. Maybe if we get home in time, we can call Dad."

"Alright...", Arianne said, tears beginning to roll down her cheek. "I'm so frightened, Alice. I don't know what to do."

The purple haired teen didn't respond, and simply gave her younger sister a tight squeeze. It killed her inside, but now wasn't the time for sentiment. Relinquishing the girl's ghostly form, Alicia nodded to Sam, and exited the shop.

The streets were utterly deserted outside. A siren had begun to wail around the city, it's screech a sound that hardly comforted the trio as they moved. The ran down the deserted pavement, heads turning as they moved through the cityscape, the briefest glimpses of the four mobile suits congregating around the research centre sending shivers down Alice and Ari's spines while they ran. Though both said nothing to one another, they knew exactly what the other was thinking: 'Is Dad in there?'. As they sprinted through the city streets and into the outskirts of town, a small forest separated the trio between them and home- a shortcut that would keep them out of harm's way, especially if the Titans sealed off the roads. However, as they ran, another noise jolted over the sound of the siren in the distance- and as the children's heads flicked to it's direction, the source was evidently clear.

The Gelgoog's arm had begun to press through the walls of the building, ripping apart concrete and rebar as it opened a gaping hole in the carcass of the R&D centre. The other suits stood watch, guarding the MS as it performed it's deed.

"Is it.. stealing something?", Ari asked, watching with horror as metal began to rain inside the building and ant-like figures poured from the building. "We always thought they were building something up there.."

Another noise brought the three to the senses. Only a hundred metres in the distance, immense panels of road began to split, as the Titans finally began to mobilize. The suits glimmered in the colony light as they emerged out of the ground, their dark azure forms sleek and streamlined, noble and heroic. "GM Quels!", Samuel exclaimed as he watched the suits rise from their underground hangars, streamlined bodies proudly displaying the Titan's insignia. "Go get 'em!". The boy's fist pumped as the immense machines started to walk, their heavy feet crashing over road and mud as they advanced towards the enemy, curved rifles in hand. While the two Quels began to emerge, similar hatches opened over the colony, and more suits began to deploy. A full force of eight GMs composed the colony's defense team as they headed towards the intruders, each brandishing it's deadly weapon tightly in palm. As the defense squad advanced, the Nemo, Rick Dias and Kampfer began to move into action, though the Gelgoog remained, it's body reaching down to retrieve something from inside the hangar.

"So.. do we keep going? They look pretty outmatched..", Arianne said, her tiny form panting as she wiped the tears from her eyes, a faint glimmer of hope sparkling in her face.

"I think we should phone Dad anyway. Even after those horrible things are destroyed, we still want to check he's okay, right?", Alicia replied.

Arianne nodded in agreement, and a brief look to Samuel indicated that he felt the same. After all, surviving an enemy raid was always easier in the company of friends. Leaping over a low concrete wall into a field, the group headed into the forest, the smell of sweet pine overshadowed by the scent of ash and fire.

"Alicia!", panted Sam, his thin face red and sweaty. "Did you see? Those GMs had beam rifles?!"

"I.. know!", Alicia retorted, her speech staggered by exhaustion as they zigzagged through the trees, heading up a small incline. "They wouldn't fire those in a colony! It'd break through into space!". She had seen them too. The thought of such weapons being used near her home was utterly terrifying- for one poor shot could easily smash through the glass window panels of Arc Nova, and once that happened, all was lost. As they ran, the sound of heavy gunfire rang out through the forest, indicating that combat had begun. As the trio reached the brow of the hill, they turned and watched, hands pressed deep over their ears as the shots sounded out. The three enemy suits had split up, with the Dias and the Nemo heading out to pick out the GMs in the city, the Kampfer heading to destroy the units closest to the Alicia, Arianne and Samuel. As the sleek, white machine stomped through the forest, trees and earth uprooted by it's heavy feet, the GMs spotted their target.

"Get down!", screamed Arianne, throwing herself onto her Alicia and pinning her to the floor as the Quels took aim, beam rifles humming for a brief second as they both units pulled the trigger. The sky seemed to flash in blinding lavender as the beam rifles let loose, the scream of the weapons matching the vocalizations of Alicia's sister as the weapon's fire ripped through the forest, leaving the tops of the pine trees smouldering. As the beams flew towards the Kämpfer, it's boosters fired and the suit moved forwards, ducking under both beams as they hit the ground behind it, scorched earth raining down upon the three teens.

"Are they fucking insane?", Samuel yelled over the roar of the mobile suits. "You two, get moving! We need to keep going!", he cried as the he leapt off the hill and hurtled down into the blackness of the trees below. Alicia's head looked up just in time to see the Kämpfer skid to a halt in front of the GM, dodging it's vulcan fire as the white leviathan jammed it's shotgun to the stomach of the Quel's chest and fired. Heavy slugs ripped through the MS's armour as the bullets pierced cockpit and fuel tank, the suit's pilot instantly killed by the vicious attack. An immense fireball filled the sky as the first GM exploded, hurling Arianne and her sister away from one another, Alicia's body bathed in heat as the explosions sent her tumbling head over heel down the hill, shrapnel and slices of metal cartwheeling along the side of the grassy mound as she thudded down into a thick bed of bluebells, vision blurred as her head span.

'It's like I'm dreaming..', she thought while consciousness slipped in and out, eyes hazy and glazed as she saw the Kämpfer use the ruined GM's body for a meat-shield, firing it's shotgun over and over into the enemy Quel. The luminous green visor of the Titan machine shattered as the cockpit crumpled and bullet holes picketed the black metal. The burning carcass of the towering MS collapsed into the forest sending trees splintering and acrid smoke rising from it's crash site. Alicia's head softly flopped backwards into the comfortable bed of pale, soft flowers, eyes staring upwards as the burnt forest's towering spines loomed above her.

The last thing she remembered before unconsciousness began to embrace her form was the faint sensation of blood trickling against her head and the faint outline of a pilot's figure standing before her. A hand reached down as blackness took her eyes.

* * *

Author Notes

I've been really excited to write this chapter. I tried to convey the sense of horror one might feel if they were in a situation such as this- from the buildup, to the reaction of the crowd in the coffee shop, I attempted to put into words the sense of dread one feels when they just know something terrible is about to happen.

From the start of planning this story, I knew I was going to use the Kämpfer at some point- it's one of my all time favorite MS designs, and one I really wanted to highlight.

Hopefully, providing links to the Gundam Wiki page for each Mobile Suit as it's introduced isn't too distracting- let me know if you think I should do it some other way!

The title for this chapter comes from a song by British band 'The Killers'. It's quite an emotional one, seemed perfect for juxtaposition with Alicia's home slowly becoming a warzone.


End file.
